The quality of a burnished floor comes down to the quality of the concrete contractor. The contractor will typically run a powered trowel or "helicopter" over the wet concrete slab and with experience and care can achieve quite a smooth finish. It is not easy and any imperfection, gouge or non-level area or dip will be very visible in the final concrete floor.
The burnished finish floor finish usually works much better on a very wide open concrete slab i.e. in a factory or large warehouse as the concreter can use a very large helicopter. With the wider surface area of a larger style helicopter a smoother and more level finish can be achieved.
Burnished floors tend to be darker in the middle of a room and lighter toward the edges. In a larger space this is less noticable however in a house it can look a little rough and ready.
In a tighter space a smaller helicopter must be used so one loses the benefits that you get with a larger helicopter.
A burnished finish doesn't have any of the finesse of a machine polished floor so if you are after a very elegant shiny finish it might not be the ideal choice. One would be better looking at a light random or grind and seal finish if one is on a budget for concrete flooring in the family home unless you are after a more industrial looking floor. If you are uncertain an examination of your concrete by one of our professional concrete consultants might be the way forward. We can then advise you on your options and find a concrete flooring solution that will match your expectations and budget.